Vodafone

LONDON—Hoping to counter competition from Japanese operator NTT DoCoMo Inc.’s i-mode service, U.K.-based Vodafone Group plc is planning to roll out a more graphically enhanced version of its Vizzavi Web …

BUCHAREST, Romania—Nortel Networks said it signed a contract with Connex to deploy packetized voice and data networks using Nortel’s softswitches and multiservice switches. “Connex will become the first service provider …

JAKARTA, Indonesia—Vodafone New Zealand recently announced the purchase of management rights for 5 megahertz of third-generation (3G) spectrum from TelstraClear. TelstraClear, the new name after a merger between TelstraSaturn, a …

TOKYO—J-Phone, Vodafone Group’s carrier in Japan, announced that the number of users of J-Phone’s popular mobile photo service exceeded 4 million. J-Phone launched the service with handsets that include built-in …

OXFORD, United Kingdom—Having heard that T-Mobile plans to launch third-generation (3G) services in 20 German cities during the third quarter, Vodafone D2 responded this week by announcing plans for a …

TOKYO—KDDI, the second-largest operator in Japan, will launch its third-generation (3G) service based on cdma2000 on 1 April, the carrier announced. In Japan, NTT DoCoMo launched FOMA 3G services in …

LONDON—Vodafone Group subsidiary Vodafone Global Products and Services signed an agreement with Siemens to supply a global location enabling server platform allowing Vodafone and third parties to create location-enabled applications. …

MADRID, Spain—Spanish telecom operator Telef

BOSTON, United States—The state fixed-line operator Telecom Egypt has invited bids to build Egypt’s third cellular GSM network on the 1800 MHz frequency band. The closing date for proposals has …

TOKYO—NTT East, a regional operator of NTT Group, said it will launch an 11 Megabits per second (Mbps) wireless local area network (LAN) service in March or April at the …

Global interest in the U.S. cellular market is high. And with consolidation expected in the United States and around the world in coming months, U.S. carriers that are owned by …

CANNES, France—The mobile industry put on a brave face last week at the annual 3GSM World Congress here, with few signs of the financial downturn the industry is currently enduring …

HELSINKI, Finland—Elisa Communications, Finland’s second-largest carrier, has entered a long-term collaboration with Vodafone in the area of mobile telephone services. The initiative will boost the Vodafone group’s market position in …

CANNES, France—A new initiative, “European Friends of 3GPP” (EF3), was founded at this week’s 3GSM World Congress to fund the organization and support of 3GPP meetings in Europe. Alcatel, Ericsson, …

CANNES, France—MapInfo has been chosen by Vodafone D2 to provide the technology platform for its location-based D2-NightGuide Premium WAP service. MapInfo’s miAware technology platform will offer navigation and routing functions …

CANNES, France—The GSM Association continued to move forward with its wide-ranging M-Services Initiative, announcing the second phase of the program, broad support from the supplier community, and a series of …

DUBLIN, Ireland—Vodafone Fiji is using short message service (SMS) software from Ireland’s Xiam. The announcement follows a trial of the software during the 2001 Rugby World Cup Sevens tournament. The …

LONDON—About 23,000 high-end Samsung A300 mobile phones valued at approximately US$6 million disappeared from a warehouse in West London this week. Police believe the handsets were stolen by thieves with …

BERLIN—The mobile division of Deutsche Telekom, T-Mobile, has forcefully indicated that it plans to be the first to launch third-generation (3G) services in Germany. The company announced plans to deploy …

TOKYO—J-Phone, the third-largest mobile carrier in Japan, announced it will launch a new e-mail service with motion pictures. According to J-Phone, which is now a Vodafone Group company, using the …

AMSTERDAM, The Netherlands—Dutch telecommunications giant KPN will buy the remaining 22.5-percent interest in German mobile-phone operator E-Plus that it does not already own from U.S.-based BellSouth for about US$1.06 billion …

WAKEFIELD, Massachusetts, United States—The Mobile Payment Forum announced it attracted 45 new members since its launch in November. Accenture, Compaq, JP Morgan Chase, i5, Sonera and Vodafone are among those …

HELSINKI, Finland—Tele2, the Stockholm-based Swedish mobile communications group, has emerged as a strong contender to secure one of Ireland’s four third-generation (3G) mobile licenses. The deadline for final submission of …

LONDON—Vodafone Group reported its Greek wireless subsidiary, Panafon-Vodafone, officially changed its name to Vodafone. Panafon adopted the dual-brand name a year ago as part of the Vodafone global brand migration …

LONDON—Vodafone Group signed a global agreement with Ericsson to supply multimedia messaging software, which Vodafone plans to use to introduce its Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) later this year. Vodafone said …